


Of Soothing Scalp Massages and Unspoken Confessions

by loser1419



Series: junhwan celebration 2019 [2]
Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Fluff, I guess???, M/M, Will add more tags as I go, bobhwan is cute, indifferent jinhwan, whipped junhoe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 06:35:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19079485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loser1419/pseuds/loser1419
Summary: Loosely based on the prompt:"Junhoe had always been wanting to run his fingers through Jinhwan's hair, while whispering sugary words through his ear and it always doesn't help when the said boy changes his hair color every now and then."





	1. Pastel Pink

**Author's Note:**

> hello! enjoy! bye!
> 
> jk when i first chose the prompt, i didn't know it'll end up being chaptered :(( joke's on me i ended up delaying the entire process because i just cant end it. is this fluff? i honestly dont know.
> 
> unbetaed. will edit once the second chapter is up.

Jinhwan's last class was cancelled, and now he has three hours of free time in his hands. It's Friday, that's why his friends arranged a night out after school, but they are all still in class so with no other choice left but to wait for them, Jinhwan chose to go to the library to pass the remaining time. He could do his homework while waiting, maybe lessen the heavy load for next week, but his stubborn mind refuses to do it because that would just defeat the idea of him relaxing from schoolwork for a couple of days. Fridays and Saturdays are his only designated days to have some fun and he's not about to change that today.

Coming to a mental agreement against himself that he'll just cram everything on Sunday, Jinhwan decides that the best choice for him to do is to get some sleep.

He finds the furthermost table in the library-- the place where he can't be seen dozing off by the librarian and some students alike, before putting his backpack on the table and patting it until it feels comfortable enough for him to lay his head on. Once satisfied with his surroundings and his set up, he keys in a short message in their group chat to inform them on his location, set an alarm on vibrate three hours later so he wouldn't sleep longer than necessary, and then he's finally ready to sleep.

He lays his head sideways facing the shelves of books, and he didn't know how tired he is until he's dozing off to dreamland, just minutes after he closes his eyes.

  
  
  


Jinhwan wakes up because of the incessant vibration on his phone from his hand. With his eyes still closed, he  blindly presses for it to stop, and he's rewarded with stillness for only a couple of minutes before it starts to vibrate again. Accepting the fact that he really needed to wake up now, he finally opens his eyes and is mildly surprised on the view that greeted him.

With his cheek still planted on his bag, Jinhwan reaches out to lightly pat the sleeping man's head. The younger student is seated beside him, mirroring his set up, and is seemingly still deep in his sleep despite the vibrations from Jinhwan's phone.

The said student suddenly moves, readjusting his position, and then Jinhwan snaps out of his trance, slightly conscious of himself when he realizes that he'd been staring. The student is Koo Junhoe, a sophomore, and is included in his little circle of friends after he joined in their dance club while he's still a freshman. Jinhwan has no idea why he's here before the others, nor the reason why he's sleeping too, but he knows that he won't get an answer if Junhoe stays asleep.

After a couple more pats and a gentle nudge, Junhoe is finally groaning loudly, obviously irritated that his sleep is cut short. Jinhwan scrambles to put his palm on Junhoe's mouth to prevent him from making more noises, hyper aware of the fact that the keen and strict librarian could detect the noise and possibly have their asses kicked out.

Junhoe blankly stares at him, mind obviously still muddled with sleep, and Jinhwan didn't remove his hand on the former's mouth until Junhoe showed signs that he's rooted back to reality.

Junhoe lifts his head from his bag and did some neck stretching to probably relieve some stress from laying it sideways for too long. This action confuses Jinhwan more, because just when did he came in and sleep with him to be doing that? He doesn't have any inkling because he's knocked out in the cold the moment his head meets his comfortable bag.

Jinhwan waits until Junhoe is done with his stretching session, and then he's opening his mouth to ask a question.

"Where are the others?" He whispers, resisting the urge to roll his eyes when Junhoe only tilted his head in confusion. "Others? Our friends? We're supposed to eat together later, right?"

A beat, and then Junhoe's face brightens in understanding  "Oh, I don't know."

Jinhwan heaves a deep breath to calm himself down. Maybe Junhoe has a better explanation. "What?"

"My prof cancelled our class too and I was staying at the cafeteria when you messaged us that you're here." Junhoe answers, as he pushes his bag away just so he could plant his elbow on the table and support his head with his hand, looking like the embodiment of nonchalance as he stares at Jinhwan. "I replied to you but when I got here, you're already sleeping so I decided to sleep too."

Junhoe smiles, and it's _kinda_ cute but Jinhwan throws the thought at the back of his mind because _no_ , he didn't just thought about that. Since when did he regarded Junhoe as cute?

"Okay."

Junhoe's other hand moves, and Jinhwan forces himself to not show any reactions to it. In order to hide away from Junhoe's intense stare, he pulls his phone out and checks his inbox for any messages from the rest of their friends.

He finds several messages on their group chat, and fortunately, they'll be coming soon.

"They said that they're on their way here."

"Sure." Junhoe answers. It's apparent that he's not listening though, with the way he's smiling as he continuously moves his hand, fascination pouring out of his eyes as he stares at something that was just slightly above Jinhwan, and Jinhwan kind of wants the ground to swallow him up just so he wouldn't have to be experiencing this torture.

Junhoe is a weirdo, and he's unapologetic about it. A nagging thought reminds him that Junhoe's only like that towards him, and that he's not a weirdo but is actually a _four letter forbidden word that he used to describe him when he smiled earlier_ , but Jinhwan only dumps the thought on the place where similar unspeakable thoughts reside.

Junhoe is not cute. Certainly not with the way he's _assaulting_ his hair as if it's some fascinating wig. It isn't.

"Junhoe?" Jinhwan calls out, when he can't stay with his head sideways any longer and before Junhoe gets completely lost in running his fingers on his hair.  

Which happens quite a lot, mind you. It doesn't mean that he's used to the ~~affection~~  assault on his hair, however. Jinhwan stopped on doing his hair when Junhoe came barging in on their club with his loud voice and big hands that comes resting either on his neck or mostly on his hair. It has been like that for two years already, and Junhoe won't stop no matter how much Jinhwan had told him to quit it already.

"Remove your hand on my hair please."

Junhoe only hums, as he continues to lightly massage Jinhwan's scalp with his long fingers. It's soothing-- if Jinhwan needs to be honest for at least once tonight, but it still doesn't stop him from sighing.

"Junhoe, my neck hurts now so please remove your hand."

Junhoe seems startled when Jinhwan lifts his free hand to cup his hand, stopping him from moving further.

"Oops, sorry." Junhoe apologizes as he retrieves his hands quickly, as if he's burned by Jinhwan's touch, and _okay_ , the blush that colors his cheeks right after is the only acceptable cute one.

 

* * *

 

Jinhwan started to notice every single thing about Junhoe when their friends started to tease him about the younger student's obvious crush on him. It's not that obvious to Jinhwan though, because he never noticed it until they began to drill the same words on his ears. He just thought that Junhoe acts like that towards everyone, but apparently, it's not the case.

_"Junhoe likes you!"_

_"Look, he touches you more than anyone! He rarely even goes near me."_

_"Junhoe would always stick close to you, whenever and wherever."_

_"If anyone would come looking for Junhoe, I usually just say where you are because most of the time he's with you."_

_"Junhoe touches your hair a lot! It's cute how he looks so into it at times."_

Ah, his hair. Junhoe had made it clear right from the start how much he loves running his fingers on his hair. Jinhwan reprimanded him about it before, saying " _I'm your senior, don't you think that you're touching me a bit too much?",_ and Junhoe had stopped for a couple of days, but he eventually reverted back to his old habits of touching his hair. Jinhwan just let him be after it, with a few reminders in between, because _maybe_ he grew comfortable with it too.

When Jinhwan wasn't too busy on blushing or focusing on other things in order to avoid being drowned on the sheer amount of attention poured on him, then he'll often hear Junhoe mumble about how soft his hair is despite him applying hair color products on it frequently, and how fascinating it is for his hair strands to glide smoothly against his fingers.

It's weird. Junhoe is weird, but at the same time, he makes him feel special. And Jinhwan certainly don't want to feel anything about the younger student's action but he just can't help it.

Junhoe, from Jinhwan's observations, reacts differently depending on his new hair color. He changes his hair color as much as he likes-- university regulations be damned, and he's doing it because he easily loses satisfaction on the way his hair looks, and certainly not because he's looking forward to the type of reactions that Junhoe will give.

His junior will always have this sparkly, amazed eyes whenever he would come to school with his newly dyed hair, hands immediately attaching to his hair, and it's quite embarrassing to hear him coo at it. More so with the kind of looks that he would receive from their friends, but Jinhwan doesn't have the heart to tell him off because of the kicked puppy look that he'll receive in return.

" _You let him get away with a lot of things!"_

Jinhwan certainly didn't, because he likes to think that he treats everyone the same way, but it's apparently not the case according to his friends. He would always shrug it off, anyway, as he _fools_ himself into thinking that they were just saying that because they like to tease him.

Junhoe reacts differently with every hair color, and when Jinhwan dyed his hair pink, his reaction when he saw it  must have been the ~~cutest~~ greatest reaction that Jinhwan had received ever. Jinhwan kept it on despite the dye fading, (he'll usually change the color before it fades) because he wanted to let his scalp breathe for a longer time, and not because Junhoe had once told him that he likes how the pastel pink color suits his features so much.

Even the pastel pink is starting to wash away, leaving him with only a white-ish color, but it still doesn't stop Junhoe with his obsession of touching his hair.

Like what he is doing now.

They had just finished their 5 boxes of pizza, as this is the exact definition of them celebrating Friday, and they are currently just engaging in small talks and catching up with each other's activities for the past week before they could all go their separate ways for the weekend.

Junhoe had taken the liberty to sit beside Jinhwan, squeezing all of his 180cm self in between the latter and Bobby, completely oblivious to the wiggle of Bobby's eyebrows that was sent to tease Jinhwan.

The boy was done eating now, and just when Jinhwan thought that he'll be free with his assault because they are with their friends tonight, Junhoe lifted his hand, rested it on his nape and began to play his little hair there. He got his phone in his free hand as he scrolls away on his social media, and Jinhwan threw a weak glare on Hanbin's way when he looked like he wanted to say something that would surely just annoy him.

It had been like that for the past twenty minutes or so, and the calming effect of Junhoe's ministrations, partnered with being full from their meal, makes Jinhwan feel drowsy. He sighs and throws his head back, closing his eyes and muting his surroundings to focus on the soothing sensation from Junhoe's hand, but it only lasted for a short time because Junhoe is suddenly leaning closer to him, whispering on his ears.

"Are you okay, hyung?" Jinhwan tries not to shiver at the warm puff of air that hits his sensitive ears.  "Tired?"

Jinhwan hums, and though he can't see Junhoe, he has an idea on how he looks, judging by the concern that tinges his voice. He had seen that expression enough times already. "Hmm."

"Oi, look at the lovebirds! How sweet!" A loud teasing voice broke out on his peaceful bubble, as Jinhwan forced his eyes open to glare at the direction of the voice.

"Shut up Donghyuk, not you too."

Junhoe removed his hand from where it's resting on his nape, and Jinhwan would like to blame the barely there disappointment on the former stopping his ministrations to fatigue. Yeah, he's just tired.

He really needed to get that full hours of sleep now  because it's making his mind think of the thoughts that he wouldn't normally entertain on a normal day.

 


	2. Purple Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone dislikes Jinhwan's new hair color. Everyone but Bobby. Junhoe is acting weird too, but Jinhwan doesn't understand why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this went longer than i initially thought it would be. :C

**nani** : i colored my hair again 

**yoonhyung** : not surprised anymore 

**nani:** shut up i have nothing to do 

**hambean** : are you done with that calculus exercises?

**nani:** well, no.

**dirty kid:** junhoe will be pleased again to see your hair lol 

**hoe** : stop attacking me 

**dirty kid:** not an attack, just facts, honey 

**bobbi:** i passed by jinani's house earlier, heh get ready to pay bastards

**nani:** what? why?

**chanuwu:** hyung, why that color?

**yoonhyung:** i expected better bc u have taste :( im wrong :( 

**nani:** wait, are you betting on my next hair color now? seriously?

**bobbi:** i told yall, hyung likes me the most ^^ 

**dirty kid:** respect junhoe's feelings!

**bobbi:** oops hehe see you tomorrow hyung! :*

 

* * *

 

"Hyung, why choose purple?" Jinhwan rolls his eyes at the nth whine that comes out of Hanbin's mouth. Ever since he arrived at school, he only received an enthusiastic hug from Bobby and disappointed grumbles from the rest of his friends. What a  _ nice  _ way to start his week.

"Quit whining and leave my hair alone." Jinhwan chastises, and when Hanbin looks like he's about to whine again, Jinhwan hushed him with a glare. "If you won't stop, I'll do you a favor by never showing up in front of you ever again."

Junhoe stands up abruptly without sparing them a single glance, watches him grab a tray and line in front of the counter, as Jinhwan shrugs the odd behaviour away because he still has some people to scold. Maybe Junhoe just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Whatever, not like he actually cared that much.

Jinhwan refocuses his attention back on their group, taking a lungful of air before going off again. "I don't know if you were that bored in your lives, that you were now betting on my next hair colors. I don't care about that, but the fact that you were acting like this," Jinhwan emphasizes his words with a gesture towards their whole table, pleased at the fact that his friends now look promptly guilty, before continuing, "Is irritating me. You're making me feel bad for something that I wholeheartedly chose. Leave my hair alone, or else I'll leave you all alone and quit the club."

"But hyung," Yunhyeong tries to reason out, but Jinhwan just ignores him as he pushes his chair back to stand up.

"And to think that I really wanted to show it to you guys." 

Jinhwan whispers, but loud enough on purpose. "Reflect on your immaturity." He delivers to them one last time, and then he's walking away from their table.

 

Having nowhere to go after his walkout scene, Jinhwan walks straight to where Junhoe is. He can't leave the cafeteria because he doesn't want to starve as he still has an hour and half left of his break, and honestly, he isn't that mad at his friends, just annoyed.

The short walk took much longer, because the oldest student felt a little conscious at the pairs of eyes that were boring holes at the back of his head. He doesn't look back to his friends however, because he wants them to truly reflect on their behavior towards him.

Jinhwan arrives to where Junhoe is standing after a few minutes. The younger student is now carrying a tray with his chosen lunch and is currently staring blankly at the assorted drinks in front of him. Jinhwan stands beside him, but Junhoe doesn't tear his eyes away from the drinks.

"Junhoe, what did the cola do to you?" When Jinhwan can't take it anymore, he finally nudges Junhoe to get his attention. The younger student is obviously startled, as he whips his head to look at him with his eyes wide, and it took him a couple more seconds to realize that it's just Jinhwan.

Okay, maybe Junhoe's behavior is starting to worry Jinhwan. A bit.

"Oh hyung, since when did you get here?" Junhoe questions instead, completely disregarding Jinhwan's earlier question, but the way he's smiling looks anything but relaxed. Weird, because he's not Bobby for him to act like this towards him, and that's the only time that he had seen that same smile.

"You're acting weird today." Jinhwan supplies, as he steps closer towards the rigid man, fixing him with inquisitive eyes. "You didn't even complimented my hair color change today. Don't tell me, you lost on the bet too?"

"No, of course not!" Junhoe shakes his head wildly, and Jinhwan is sure that if he isn't holding anything, then his arms would flail around too. "I didn't even participated in any bet. They just did it among themselves."

"Then why are you acting like this today?" Jinhwan pries, and after earlier he thinks that he needs some compliment so he shamelessly continues with, "You don't like how my hair color looks on me?"

"I like it." Junhoe answers quickly, surprising them both at the assertiveness of it, and then he's sighing like he wants to say something more, but can't. Now, Jinhwan is very curious on what is it.

"But?" Jinhwan trails off, urging the troubled man to continue, because he knows that there really is something more to this.

"Is it true?" At the answer, Jinhwan arches his brow, not getting it. Junhoe scratches his head, and it's amazing how he really can't mask his true emotions because it reflects clearly on his face. "I mean, Bobby hyung said that you like him the most, and I was just thinking--"

"Of course, hyung does!" Jinhwan embarrassingly lets out a surprised shriek at the sound of a third party, and at the arm that snakes on his shoulders. The voice belongs to no other than Bobby himself, and he is currently smiling widely at both males as he didn't just cut in while they are in the middle of their conversation. "Isn't it right, hyung?"

Jinhwan rolls his eyes at the remark. The key to the mystery is finally within reach, but then Jiwon just had to pipe in. Worst timing ever. 

"Can't you see that we're still talking?" He tries to wiggle away from Jiwon's hold but who is he kidding? Jiwon just presses him closer, rendering all his efforts useless.

"Aww, sorry for that hyung." Bobby then proceeds to shamelessly rub his cheeks against him, like he's some cat or an overexcited dog for that matter, and Jinhwan becomes aware of the fact that the man is acting extra clingy today because he wants to make up about something. He's always like this when he gets in trouble. Given the speech that he delivered, and the reason why he's out on his seat, then he has a clear idea on what the man is sorry for.

"Can you let me breathe? You're hogging all my personal space." Jinhwan tries to push Bobby away from him again, because they are in the middle of the school cafeteria and here he is, being smothered with Bobby's excessive skinship. Also, Junhoe has been staring silently at them, his lips pursed and his eyebrows furrowed in the middle. He looks like he's agitated, but for what though?

_ Ah _ , Jinhwan remembers that he was in the middle of his sentence when Bobby came barreling in on their conversation earlier. It must have been important. He's saying something about Bobby too, so….

"Because I like you this much, hyung!"

"Bobby, please!" Jinhwan whines, loud enough to attract the attention of the students nearby. Bobby laughs when Jinhwan scrambles for an embarrassed apology, head bowing at the surprised students. Jinhwan pinches Bobby's sides in retaliation, feeling a sense of satisfaction when he hears the younger yelp.

"Hyung, gotta go." Junhoe informs him, voice harder than what he remembers, but before Jinhwan could prepare his reply, the said student begins to walk away, his expression unreadable. Jinhwan just watches him leave, can't quite understand why he feels a little weird upon seeing the usually hyper male like that. Something is definitely off.

"Earth to Jinani?" Bobby snaps his fingers at him, as he finally removed his arms around Jinhwan, moving to stand in front of the dazed male to attract his attention.

Jinhwan sighs, his vision now blocked from continuing on following the slouched back of his junior. He directs his eyes to glare at the smiling male, and then he's throwing his fists at him.

"Ah, hyung, wait! Why?" Bobby jumps, as he tries to dodge Jinhwan's small but sturdy fists to no avail. The older man knew exactly where to land a hit.

Jinhwan lets himself throw a couple more punches before ending his assault with a solid one on Bobby's biceps. He feels himself smile upon seeing the ridiculous and exaggerated expression on the younger's face, which in turn, makes Bobby smile too.

"There, you are smiling again." Bobby says, as he whisks Jinhwan away and towards the wide selection of bland tasting lunch menu. Jinhwan lets himself be dragged, already losing the willpower to go against Bobby's plans. The punches that he threw quickly tire him off. He needs to exercise again.

"Why are you two talking about anyway? Is the kid finally going to confess to you?" Bobby says as he excitedly shakes Jinhwan's shoulders. Jinhwan kind of want to use the last bit of his remaining energy to throw another punch at the excited male.

But Jinhwan has enough violence today, so he opted for a glare instead. "Shut up.

"You didn't deny it though?"

"He's not in the middle of a confession." Jinhwan grits his teeth, embarrassed on Junhoe's behalf. Why would he confess to him anyway? Out of all people?

"Then what happened?"

"He was about to say something important, but you cut him off." In all fairness, Bobby still has the decency to look apologetic. "I do remember him asking if something was true, and he mentioned your name too."

"What? I barely talk to him?"

Jinhwan hums, as he steps aside, pulling Bobby along with him because they are blocking the flow of the line. He also don't know why they are still standing here. He's lost his appetite already.

"Weird." He hears Bobby mumble under his breath, his brows furrowed as he probably relives any memories that would result to Junhoe's question earlier, but he obviously finds none because he's shrugging at Jinhwan moments after. "Can't remember anything."

"Never mind that, I'll just ask him again next time." There's no use in thinking about Junhoe's question anymore, because they both think it's so random anyway. He'll just have to find a time where they'll both alone, and without any disturbances from anyone so Junhoe can continue whatever it is that he's planning to say.

"Anyway, if you're going to buy your lunch, then buy it now. I'm not hungry, so I'll go back to our table. Maybe they're done reflecting." Jinhwan unwounds Bobby's arms around him, as he prepares to walk back where the rest of their friends are. However, Bobby doesn't let him get that far, as he reaches for his hand, getting pulled back.

"What is it this time?" Jinhwan grumbles, frowning at Bobby now. He just wants to sit down because he's been standing for so long, can't he even get that?

"Choose your lunch menu. Or whatever you wanted to eat. I'll pay." Bobby says, as he pulls them to line. He's looking at the menu in front of them, which Jinhwan knows as just a facade because their cafeteria always has the same menu. They are at their fourth year now and it's impossible for Bobby to not have the menu memorized by heart.

"Ooh," Jinhwan trails off, smile forming on his lips once again. He understands it now-- that this must be Bobby's way of apologizing to him because of his lecture earlier, but still, he wants to tease Bobby more, as a payback or some sort. "What's the occasion?"

Bobby shakes his head, his eyes still focused somewhere. "Nothing."

Jinhwan leans closer, enjoying how Bobby flinches back. "Really?"

Bobby nods firmly, but it's more of a way to convince himself than Jinhwan. Jinhwan on the other hand, keeps his eyes squinted on the nervous man, because sooner or later, Bobby will have to eventually break his facade.

Surprisingly, a glance to him is all what it takes for Bobby to sigh dejectedly, a telltale sign that he's ready to spill.

"Fine, I'm treating you with the money that I got from the bet. It's my fault anyway." Bobby sounds so sad, and it'll be rude to laugh so Jinhwan held it in. He tries to maintain a poker face, which is quite effective because Bobby looks a little panicked at his silence. "I started it, and I knew that I shouldn't, so I'm treating you to make up for it."

Jinhwan finally leans back, giving Bobby's space back. He bites his lips to prevent a smile from peeking out, as he pretends to think for a moment. "I see."

"Don't get mad anymore."

The conflicted expression on Bobby's face is really hilarious though, especially with the way he repeatedly sneaks glances towards their table, probably seeking help from them. Jinhwan almost lost it when he looks at them too, and finds the rest of his friends quickly  averting their gazes somewhere. Well, except for Junhoe though, because he's the only one who kept his eyes on them.

"I don't know." Jinhwan eventually continues, as he rips his attention away from Junhoe. He's lost the momentum of teasing Bobby, because there's something about the way how Junhoe looks at them. "No one apologized to me yet."

"We're sorry."

"Hmm." Jinhwan hums, and then he's shaking his head as he tries to remove the expression on Junhoe's face from his mind. He'll deal about that later and ask him once and for all.

"I'm sorry."

Jinhwan squints his eyes some more at Bobby, and when he deems the latter sincere enough, he finally decides to drop the act. "Okay!"

Bobby's jaw drops comically at the reply, can't believe that Jinhwan's mood could shift that fast. Unless he wasn't really that mad in the first place…..

"I want the pasta, with the soup and garlic rice."

Jinhwan says as he points at the dishes, while Bobby scowls at him, realizing it.

"Why do you always like to act!"

This time, Jinhwan makes no effort in hiding his laughter.

  
  
  
  


When Jinhwan and Bobby went back to their table, Junhoe was gone from his seat, his food only halfway touched. Yunhyeong told him that the sophomore was suddenly called by his Calculus teacher, that's why he needed to go to the faculty.

Jinhwan just nodded, even though he knew that it was a lie because he remembered Junhoe telling him that their Calculus professor will be gone for a week, starting today.

It seemed like Jinhwan had a lot to ask, as he bemoaned quietly because he shouldn't be bothered by Junhoe's behavior just like the rest of his friends but he is.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the prompter added bobhwan on ships that s/he wanted to see so here i went sjndnd

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for the anon who dropped this cute prompt on our form! sorry in advance too because i have plans in ruining it. lol this is also a follow up gift for posting an angst on junhwan day hehe


End file.
